Fact Check: Aftermath of Indian strike on Pak’s Nur Khan airbase caught on camera? No, find the facts here
A video is circulating on social media with the claim that it shows the aftermath of an Indian airstrike on Pakistan’s Nur Khan airbase during Operation Sindoor.
By K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows multiple aircraft destroyed by an Indian airstrike at Pakistan’s Nur Khan airbase.
Fact:The claim is false. The video was taken at Khartoum International Airport in Sudan.
Hyderabad: A video of multiple airplane debris strewn in an open place is going viral on social media with the claim that it shows the aftermath of the Indian airstrike on Pakistan’s Nur Khan airbase as part of Operation Sindoor.
The video was shared on Facebook with the caption, “Pakistan Noor Khan Airbase destroyed by IAF --real pictures as reported by Pak media--All indian pilots engaged are safe n back. (sic)” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video was shot at Sudan’s Khartoum International Airport.
Using a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, we found the same video uploaded to YouTube on April 1. It was titled, ‘Khartoum international airport #aviation.’
We also found the viral video in another Facebook account, also shared on April 1, with the caption, “The Khartoum International Airport (KRT/HSSK) of Sudan in its current state, and needs to be brought back to operations after it saw the destruction of a multiple aircraft on the apron during the clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in May 2023.
The Sudanese army has announced the recapture of Khartoum International Airport from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), marking a key travel infrastructure gain in the country’s two-year civil war. (sic)”
The Pahalgam terrorist attack occurred on April 22, which led to India retaliating against Pakistan with Operation Sindoor on May 7. Since the viral video was shared on April 1, it predates the current conflict between India and Pakistan.
On March 27, News X World published a report titled, ‘Sudanese Army Recaptures Khartoum International Airport As Military Chief Returns To Capital.’ The report read, “The Sudanese army announced on Wednesday that it had regained control of Khartoum International Airport, marking a significant step toward reclaiming the capital from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.”
The report also stated that since April 2023, when the war broke out between the military and the RSF regarding power struggles, the paramilitary group had taken control of key locations, including the airport.
An Al Jazeera report also had similar details about the conflict. It published a report on March 26, titled, “‘Khartoum is free’ says Sudan Army chief al-Burhan after airport captured”. The report stated that Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has declared, “Khartoum is free” hours after his forces recaptured Khartoum airport from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This confirmed that the viral video is from Sudan.
Although we couldn’t find the exact source of the video, we can conclude that it is unrelated to the aftermath of the Indian strike on Pakistan’s Nur Khan airbase.
The viral claim is false.
